When Tracy and I began the blog we were both on sabbatical! The years pass quickly and now it’s another sabbatical for me.

This year I’m a Visiting Faculty Fellow at the University of Toronto Ethics Centre

Here’s my new office:

Such a clean desk. So empty and no books.

All the more room for in office exercise? Likely not.

But since sabbaticals involve not just more time for research and writing but also more conferences and giving talks, I’m traveling a lot. I started writing this at the Eastern Division APA meeting in Baltimore where I gave a talk on the move from the chubby kid to the obese child. It was part of a panel on the medicalization and politicization of fat.

Then I got time to play in the snow. See here and here.

Then I zoomed off to Arizona for the Normative Ethics conference.

But when I am back my usual weeks in fitness will start like this: Monday I go to the Hart House gym for weights and drop in spin classes, Tuesday I go boxing, and Wednesday I go spinning with the friends for life bike rally people. I’ve yet to sort out the rest of the week. Some running, more cycling, maybe more boxing, and definitely playing outside in the snow. I’m not sure yet how Aikido will fit in.

I’m tempted by swimming lessons at Hart House just because the pool is so beautiful!

How are your 2017 fitness plans shaping up?

 

I have a 15 year old daughter. Ever since she was born, I have been vigilant about the messages she gets from me and other members of the family. It’s really hard to know how to raise a daughter in a world that is doing it’s very best to squeeze her into a size 0 frame of reference.

Mostly, I’ve been lucky. She never developed a Princess obsession. I don’t for one second believe it was solely because I said things like “Princess isn’t a job” at every opportunity. It just wasn’t her thing. Cute animals have been her thing ever since she could string together a sentence. She used to look out the back window of our Toronto home and say “I want something what’s furry and lives in a cage”. Basically, she wanted a pet squirrel. Over the years, we have gone through 8 pet rats (they die every 2.5 years or so). We have Shelby the wonder dog and she rides horses with me at a lovely school barn near our house. We have spent many many hours discussing cute animals of various types and I have encouraged every second of this focus. Why? Well, mostly because it’s where she was at and children need to be met and acknowledged in that way to stay connected. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that part of my enthusiastic participation in the constant cute animal discussion of her pre-teen years was to keep her focus on the things that made her happy and to avoid or ignore all the gross media about girls and young women.

She is by no means an isolated teen. She has Snap Chat and texts and Kick. She has no interest in Instagram or Facebook (Yay) and I attribute this to her general good attitude about herself and this really cool self protection she has developed regarding all the things I worry and worry and worry about.

She eats what she wants and she is relatively physically active. When you ask her why she is active, she will say it’s because it’s fun. What she doesn’t reference is anything to do with what she looks like and nothing about taking up any less space in the world.

I’m telling you all this as background to a moment today that epitomizes the kind of moments women endure over and over again. If you aren’t thinking about it, it’s meaningless background noise. But I think about it all the time and it made me sad.

We were buying a new pair of snow pants because the ones we bought last year were too small. The women asked her size and brought her a few pairs. She came by after a few minutes and asked if the size was correct. My daughter said in her casual way “Not this pair that’s for sure” and flung them over the door. The sales woman went into crisis control mode. “Don’t worry hun, they fit small. Just don’t you worry. “ She then prattled on about how we all get “a little bigger over the holidays” but that she shouldn’t be worried at all. She also told a story about a girl who was “crying in the change room” last week but she assured her these pants “fit small”. It was a panic, for the sales woman anyway.

Later, I asked my daughter if she noticed the woman’s freak out when the pants she brought didn’t fit. She had noticed but she laughed and said it was bizarre. I wanted to know if the small pair of pants had, in fact, bugged my daughter at all. I wanted to give her the opportunity to talk about that and to check in if she was still as intact as I perceive her in this realm. I think she still is. We compared it to shoes. If the sales person brings you a 9.5 and they are too small, they bring you a 10. They don’t apologize and tell you not to cry over your size 10 feet.

So I just keep hoping and worrying and talking. I keep making myself an example of a person who tries to enjoy movement, eat what they want and normalize the variety of human bodies we inhabit. So far, it’s working. . .I think.

Shelby in action on our show shoe hike today. She sets a good example too.

 

I’ve been sharing Instagram posts that make me smile. Here’s one from cyclist and philosopher Rachel McKinnon. She’s come a long way as a cyclist. Rachel is riding in a beautiful part of the country. I’m jealous of her year round riding!

Follow Rachel on Instagram.

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A post shared by Dr Veronica Ivy (@drveronicaivy)

 

I’m usually not one to promote eating plans, especially in January. But I like “challenges.” And I’m vegan for ethical reasons (having to do first with unnecessary animal suffering and second for environmental reasons). Not only that, I know lots of people who say they aspire to follow this way of life but they worry that it’s too hard. Besides the ethical arguments, there are loads of health reasons to eat plant-based diets. 

If you’re not interested in doing that, read no further. This post is not aimed at converting anyone. If you’ve toyed with the idea of going vegan, which means ditching all animal products from your diet and indeed from your life, then this post is for you. 

As a long time vegetarian who turned vegan five years ago, I know all too well the thought that it’s just too hard. Too hard to give up cheese, eggs, your favourite yogurt, or cream cheese. Too difficult to pass on all those amazing desserts that inevitably have eggs and milk on them. And did we already mention cheese? That was me. And to be honest, I haven’t completely succeeded. But I aspire towards vegan in my food, clothing, and other purchases. One thing I’ve learned is it’s not nearly as tough as you would think. 

I did lots of reading leading up to my decision and the change from veggie to vegan went more smoothly than I could have imagined. 

One resource that’s out there right now, but was not when I started, is Veganuary. It’s a month long challenge, started in the U.K. In 2014,  for people who might want to make some changes in that direction but can’t figure out how. 

Despite that I’m already doing my best to live that way, I’ve signed up because I’d like to recommit to the consistency I maintained when I was just starting out. I don’t presume to know everything and I am always on the lookout for new recipes. The website is full of information about labels, reasons to be vegan (including health), how to get started, recipes and myths. 

If you sign up they send you an electronic copy of a cookbook (haven’t tried it so I can’t vouch for it). 

What do you think? Have you been curious about going to a fully plant based way of eating, with no animal products? If so, how about giving Veganuary a try? You might discover it’s not as tough as you thought. 

See Fisher-Price Will Battle Childhood Obesity With an Exercise Bike Tablet Holder.

“Your tablet-obsessed kid spending hours on the couch poking at a touchscreen probably isn’t doing their waistline any favors. But instead of wrestling an iPad out of their hands, Fisher-Price wants to help battle childhood obesity with a tablet holder that’s essentially an exercise bike for kids.”

I’ve written about kiddie exercise equipment before. See Sam stirs up a lively debate about kids and treadmills and apologizes. I hate the focus on kiddie weight loss. I hate exercise as drudgery in front of a screen. What good could come of that?

You see my knee jerk reaction is still that kids should put away tablets and play outside. They should run around in the woods and build snow forts and get out of breath playing games. Think ice skating and sledding!

But last year when I said that on our Facebook page lots of fans of the page pointed to the assumptions about class and wealth and safety that claim makes. Not everyone lives in a neighbourhood where kids can play outside. I also heard from people about ableism and the use treadmills might play in the lives of kids with disabilities.

I wrote, “I think I forgot the cardinal rule of being a parent. Never, ever, ever criticize the choices other parents make. I confess I’d kind of forgotten how much shame and blame parents get for their choices. My youngest kids are in their late teens and I tend to forget how judgmental people can be, including me, apparently.”

Go read the rest of that post if you’re interested. There are links to resources about this debate.

So, I’m setting my knee jerk reaction aside. And I’ll ask you what you think. What do you make of exercise bikes for toddlers?

Thanks republicofhelen for brightening up my morning.

Amid all the weight loss, “new year, new you” and ads for diet plans there was this breath of fresh air.

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A post shared by Helen Rothwell (@helen_rothwell_pt)

Susan is the first Friday of every month, Cate is the second Friday, Martha is the third, and the fourth Friday of every month is Kim.

The Saturday line up is Nat the first Saturday of the month and Tracy de Boer the second Saturday of the month.  Other Saturdays are other guests.

Sundays are continuing to be Catherine‘s day, “Weekends with Womack.”

As usual Sam will blog Mondays and Wednesdays and Tracy will blog Tuesdays and Thursdays.

There’s also random guest posts thrown in here and there.

Thanks for reading, liking, following, and sharing!

It’s time to taper for the Key West Half Marathon after three dedicated months of sticking to a careful training plan worked out over a post-long run breakfast with Anita at the Campus HiFi Diner. I know some people get twitchy during tapering. But I kind of like it.

I’m really excited about this event. The Niagara Falls Women’s Half Marathon is a “destination” race for some. But since I’ve been going to Niagara Falls ever since I was a kid, it doesn’t have the same sense of destination and adventure, that same “bucket list” feeling, as Key West, which is truly something out of the way for me.

It’s by far the furthest I’ve ever traveled to participate in an event. And that makes it feel special–not to mention that Rebecca and Anita are coming down to Florida for it too. Whoa — talk about bursting with excitement!

As Sam said the other day when she was talking about the ways she and I are different from each other, I’m a planner. Like, a fairly careful planner. Not a shoot for the stars and be happy with the moon-type. If I’m going to end up on the moon, I want to have aimed for the moon in the first place. If the stars are out of reach, then I’d rather not try to get there. Whatever you think of that strategy (if “realistic expectations” are a strategy), it causes me less stress.

Part of the half marathon plan involves a taper. This is not some new invention, of course. Most experts suggest some sort of tapering off before a big event. The taper usually includes reduced mileage within two weeks of the big day, with the last very long run two weeks prior to the event. Anita and I worked that into our schedule.

New Year’s Day complicated that a bit for me since our original plan (with me doing my 22K and then meeting family at a restaurant on Fort Lauderdale Beach) fell aside when it became clear that January 1st was the only really good day to go sailing before my step-daughter and her partner had to leave. Since they hadn’t sailed on our new catamaran (Guinevere V) before, there was no contest between accommodating my long run and accommodating their opportunity to experience Guinevere V at sea.

So I’m pushing it a bit with my last long run scheduled for Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m. But other than that, the taper is going as planned. I’ve gotten in some shorter runs in the 5K-10K range, including a little bit of speed work. I’m getting pretty good sleep even if my boat bed isn’t as comfortable as my home bed. As Renald likes to remind me, “sailor’s midnight” is around 8:30-9 p.m. So we’ve had some early nights (not quite that early, but let’s just say we said “happy new year” at around 10:30.

Okay, so I’ve got the running worked into the taper. And the sleeping. The next element of a good taper is refining your nutrition. There’s mixed opinion about what this involves. Rebecca expressed shock yesterday when I sent her a link to this article, which suggests that carb-loading before a half marathon isn’t necessarily supported by the latest research.

The main thing I’ve learned from reading around about nutrition is to stick with what works for you. As a vegan, despite that there are lots of good sources of vegan protein and I am not lacking in that department, my diet is probably more carb heavy than some. The received view is that if that’s what’s working for me, that’s what I should do. And as Rebecca says, regardless of the research, we are going to eat a pasta dinner with bread the night before the race. I like the advice in this article, which seems eminently sensible: experiment before race day. Don’t try anything new on race day.

I usually do oatmeal with soy milk and fruit, and a tea or coffee the morning of an event. I’m going to need to plan ahead for that since I don’t have my usual supplies here on the boat.

It’s also a good idea to know, sort of, what to expect during the event. I’ve learned the hard way about taking energy drinks or gels offered on the course when I’ve not tried those before. Hammer Heed, for example, is not something I can tolerate well after I’m already depleted. The Key West Half is going to be offering water and Ultima Replenisher at every station from the second one on. If I am smart, I’ll get my hands on some Ultima Replenisher before my long run on Wednesday so I can try it out.

We’ll get there on Saturday with plenty of time to kick back, pick up our race kits between noon and 6 p.m. at the Waterfront Brewery on William Street. At the same time we can scope out the start line, just a block away, at Caroline and Grinnell.

One bonus my research turned up that I wasn’t aware of before: live music and entertainment along the race course! I experienced this at my first half marathon, The Toronto Scotiabank Waterfront Half, and it gave me a real boost.

I feel good about my training. Anita and I have felt really good on our longer runs lately. No we’re not gunning for the sub-2:05 time that Rebecca is going for (she can do it! She is one badass athlete!), but we feel comfortable with our goal of finishing under 2:30 provided the heat and humidity do not force a change in that plan.

Anita has already been in touch about dinner plans (Italian!) the night before and brunch plans post-race. Rebecca and her partner are meeting up with us on Guinevere V on the Friday and we’re driving from Fort Lauderdale to Key West on Saturday morning so we be there for the 7 a.m. start on Sunday. It’s all shaping up to be quite the race weekend with good friends, fun times, and a reprieve from the Canadian winter.

 

 

Over the years, I’ve put a lot of effort into getting good glide out of my classic-style cross-country skis. I learned to wax my own skis to get better grip and glide. I took lessons to improve my form and studied videos of ski racers—like Marit Bjørgen—who have inspiring classic technique. I also bought multiple pairs of skis to achieve the best glide in different conditions. My favorites are a pair of “zero” skis designed for temperatures around zero degrees. With zeros you sand (rather than wax) the kick zone, so you can even ski on ice. The glide is amazing.

Glide waxing:

Despite the fun I’ve had chasing better glide, this year I decided to pursue convenience instead. I’ve had a somewhat challenging year and my personal time has been limited. It takes time to prep skis and if you don’t gauge the weather and snow conditions correctly, you often have to wax or sand again while out on the trails. It also takes me about 40 minutes to drive to the beautiful track-set trails at my local Nordic club. Getting out for a quick ski before work or at lunch started to look like an attractive second best. So I added a pair of “grab and go” waxless skis to my ski wardrobe. Less glide, but more convenient. And good on the rougher trails close to home and work.

It turns out, though, that waxless skis have improved a lot. On my inaugural waxless tour through the neighborhood, I was surprised by how great the glide was. I sailed over rough snow and icy footprints and had some seriously good, effortless fun. But the great glide also made me suddenly aware that I hadn’t really felt free and joyous in a while. Unsurprising, I guess, given that I was busy choosing convenience over passion in the first place. But it was nonetheless an epiphany of sorts.

This got me wondering about the broader significance of glide. Glide is the lifeblood of most, if not all, sports. Athletes spend a lot of time working on form, strength, and endurance to reduce the physical resistance of water, air, and various surfaces. Swimmers adopt good form to reduce drag in water. Cyclists adopt aerodynamic body positioning to reduce drag through air. The result is glide. (Or at least the feeling of glide. Are cyclists technically rolling rather than gliding? Or are they rolling over the ground and gliding through the air? A debate for another time perhaps!)

The experience of glide also has interesting psychological dimensions. When gliding, we often leave judgmental, busy minds behind and immerse ourselves in the moment. It’s fun, and sometimes involves experiences of flow or “being in the zone.” Glide can also awaken us to the simplicity of being, or signal that we are drifting from authenticity elsewhere in our lives.

Given the significance of glide, now seems an especially good time to notice it in our athletic activities. From the standpoint of social and economic justice, this year looks pretty challenging. It will take strength to respond wisely (and creatively) to prejudice, cruelty, and bad behavior. Staying centred and keeping our collective spirits up will be important. In this, maybe glide can help.

And if not, at least we’ll have fun on the ride.

My waxing bench and current ski collection. The new waxless skis are second from right: